Control head for oil or gas wells



Aug. l6, 1932. L BLAC 1,872,104

CONTROL HEAD FOR OIL OR GAS WELLS Filed Feb. 4. 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 116, I L. J. BLACK 1,872,104

CONTROL HEAD FOR OIL OR GAS WELLS Filed Feb. 4, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z6314mm H'o't Le a fig/0% after 1 Patented Aug. 16, 1932 PATENT OFFICE LEEJ. BLACK, 01? BEAUMONT, TEXAS common HEAD ron on. on GAS wrztrsApplication filed February 4, 1930. Serial No. 425,894..

This invention relates to control systems used in oil and gas wells forthe purpose of setting a strainer in the oil sands, Washing the strainerfree of mud or slush, washing down to the bottom of the hole because ofcavings and settlings or for closing the well entirely when the waterswivel is disconnected, and for directing any flow of gas or oil fromthe well, or for bailing or swabbing the well, and the general object ofthe present invention is to provide what may be termed an auxiliary bowland packer having means whereby it may be screwed into the usual or mainbowl, the auxiliary bowl carrying wedges or slips therein for gripping alength of pipe and centering it with relatlon to the well casing, thesewedges acting to hold the pipe at any desired point and permitting thispipe to be raised or lowered as necessity demands.

A further object is to provide a packing carried by this auxiliary bowlwhich is compressed around the pipe by the weight of the pipe stringacting upon the wedges and which may be also compressed by a gland orcompressing member supported upon the top of the auxiliary bowl andadapted to be compressed by a series of bolts whenever necessary.

A further object is to provide anassembly of this character which may bereadily put in place upon a length of pipe and then lowered into theregular bowl and rotated to secure screw-threaded engagement therewithor may be as readily removed with its string of pipe.

Further and more specific objects are to provide an assembly of thischaracter which will properlyspa'ce the inside pipe in the hole withoutcutting the joint, which will automatically compress the packing by theweight of the inside'pipe, which will suspend the inside pipe on slipsfor the purpose of.

supporting it atany desired point, which has means whereby the slips andpacking may be compressed through the action of bolts for furthertightening the packing and at the same time prevent inside pressure fromlifting the pipe from the hole.

A further object is to provide an assembly of this kind which providesfor a'quick take-down and which may be used with or removed from astandard taper-bowl, permitting the standard taper-bowl to be used forslips in handling the pipe and eliminating the necessity of moving anyspecial equipment to the well for this purpose.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure1 is a vertical sectional view of a pipe supporting and packing assemblyconstructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the auxiliary bowl, the pipe and thebolts being in section.

' Figure 3 is a top plan view of the gland;

Figure 4 is a section on the line 44 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a' section on the line 5-5 of Figure 1. I

Referring to the drawings, 10 designates the usual combined slipsupporting bowl and T commonly used in connection with rotary drillingrigs. This T has a plurality of lateral openings 11 interiorlyscrew-threaded for the reception of lateral discharging pipes 12provided with the usual controlling valves. The lower end of thiscombined T and bowl is screw-threaded in connection with the usualcasing 13 having therein the usual master gate 14. So far, I havedescribed a combination which is commonly used in oil and gas wells, thebowl 10 adapted to receive wedges or slips: for the purpose ofsupporting pipe within the casing and these slips or wedges when raisedpermitting the pipe to be raised or lowered.

My invention consists in the provision of a supplemental bowl designated15 having a downwardly tapered exterior face, the lower end of this bowlbeing formed to have a uniform exterior diameter and being screwthreadedat 16 to engage with screw-threads formed at the lower end of the bowl10. The upper end of this auxiliary bowl is formed with the outwardlyprojecting ears 17 to which bolts 18 are pivoted, these bolts carryingthe nuts 19. j

The inner face of the bowl is downwardly and inwardly tapered at 20 fora distance, then extends straight downward parallel to the vertical axisof the-bowl and then .inward to provide a shoulder 21. -Adapted to restupon this shoulder is a junk ring 22 preferably formed in two sectionsas shown in Figure '1 and resting upon this lower junk ring are aplurality of packing rings 23. Resting upon the top of the packing ringsis another junk ring 24 preferably formed in two sections.

Disposed within the downwardly tapered upper portion of the auxiliarybowl 15 are a plurality of wedges or slips 25. There may be any numberof these slips, but I have illustrated six of these slips, each of theseslips 1 having a downwardly inclined outer face and toothed inner faceand each of these slips being provided with a handle 26. Adapted to restupon the upper end faces of these slips .or wedges 25 is a gland. 27.This gland is annular in form and provided with a central downwardlyextending hub portion 28 adaptedto'fit within the upper end of the spacedefined by the auxiliary bowl l and to move downward 'intosaid space.This hub portion bears against the upper ends of the wedges 25. Abovethis hub portion the gland 27 is provided with the radially extendingslots 29 through which the bolts 18 pass. This gland is alsoprovided'withopenings 30 through which the handles 26 may extend.Preferably the gland 27 will be formed in two sections as illustrated inFigure 4, onesection overlapping the other. section as at 31. A screwmay be used to hold the overlapping portions together. The center of thegland is formed with the upwardly extending shoulder 32. p

In the use of this device, it will be seen that it is inserted withintheusual bowl 10 the slips ordinarily placed within this bowl being removedand the gland rotated so as to engage its threadsv 16 with the threadsat the lower ends of the bowl. The inner pipe 33- under thesecircumstances. will be embraced by the packing 23 and may be supportedbythe slips 25. If the gland 27 is removed or lifted, it will be obviousthat the slips 25 may be lifted ifnecessar by the upward movement of thepipe 33 ut that the weight of the pipe will normally urge the wedges.25. downward against the. packing formed of the junk rings 22 and 24 andthe well or can be lowered into the hole usin packing rings 23 so as tocom ress this packing and force the packing tig tly against the pipe 33.If for any reason, it is desired to compress this packing still furtherso that the pressure of fluid within the well will not act to lift thepipe 33 and the wedges 25, the .gland 27 is put in place and forceddownward by the bolts 18, thus forcing the wedges 25 downward againstthe packing, holding the wedges from upward movement and compressing thepacking and thus locking the pipe 33 within the well. I

The pipe 33 may be provided with a control gate (not shown) at the topof the pipe and this assembly consisting of a short piece of pipe 33,the auxiliary bowl 15, the packing, the wedges and the gland may besuspended in the derrick ready to be swung into position if the wellshould, come in while the drill stem is being removed from the hole.Under these circumstances, the assembly is dropped down and theauxiliary bowl 15 screwed into the bowl 10, making an oil-tight jointand the gland 27 forced downward by the bolts 18 in order to prevent anyflow around the pipe 33.

The control valves of the flow pipes connected to the combined T andbowl 10 having been put in place, the flow can be'directed out throughthis cross pipe by closing the valve 34.

The assembly which I havedescribed can be used for the double purpose ofwashing the well and for controlling the swinging of the air or gas linein the well when necessary to reduce the flow or to insert compressedair or gas to cause the well to flow and yet the assembly is such thatat any time work is to be done, such as, for instance, if the insidepipe is to be removed orthe diameter of the inside pipe 33 to bechanged, it can be readily. accomplished by attaching lifting lines topipe 33 and then-when the upper'slip bowl isunscrewed from the main slipbowl, thev I complete assembly may be lifted and 'setno aside. Standardslips can thus be used in the bowl 10'to fit the size of pipe that isbeing handled or the outside diameter of the pipe 33 and this pipe 33can be pulled from the I such standard slips, but if the well shoul-11), show signs of becoming wild, it is only necessary to swing intoplace the auxiliary slip bowl 15 with its allied parts and screw it intothe slip bowl 10. When the stem is dropped back, the slips or wedges 25will engage the pipe 33 com ressing the packing 23, shut ting off theow. In order to prevent pressure from below from lifting this pipe andreleasing the slips, allowing the pipe to drop, 12:, the gland-27 can bepulled down by the bolts 18. This completely sealsthe well. Any time itbecomes necessary to change the location of the pipe; it can be doneeither byremoving the assembly, consisting of the auxno iliary bowl 15and its allied parts and adding the pipe below, holding the string ofpipe in the bowl 10, or the gland 27 can be loosened and additionallength of pipe attached to the top of the pipe 33 and this pipe belowered and heldin place by the wedges 25. This will enable the operatorto adjust the pipe a very few feet up or down in the hole as isfrequently necessary when flowing a well with compressed air or gas andat the same time have the well under control at all times and elfectingno necessity of cutting the pipe as the upper extension of the pipe 33can stand up in the derrick, the difference of a few feet in height,making no material difference.

It will be seenthat by my construction, I properly space the pipe in thehole'without cutting the joint, that I automatically compress thepackingby the weight of the inside pipe and suspend the inside pipe onslips for the purpose of supporting it at any desired point. Further, Ihave provided means whereby the slips and packing may be forced downwardby agland and bolts to thereby further tighten the packing and preventini side pressure from lifting the pipe 33 from the hole in case it isnecessary to shut the control gate 1 1. The assembly furthermore permitsof being quickly taken down by the removal of the auxiliary bowl 15 andits allied parts from the bowl- 10, thus leaving a standard taper bowlfor the use of slips in handling the pipe, eliminating the, necessity ofusing any special equipment for this purpose.

In finishing oil wells, it is the usual custom to set what is commonlyknown as the oil string of easing at the top of the oil sand, cementingit at the bottom and providing the top ofthe casing with a master gatefor the purpose of controlling the well while the finishing operations(such as setting the strainer or liner and washing the slush from thewell) are carried on. It was the frequent occurrence that while thedrill stem was in the hole. the well would go wild and because of thefact that the drill pipe extended through the master gate, it wasimpossible to close the well off without unscrewing and dropping thedrill stem in the hole,'which in most cases would ruin the well. Myinvention, as previously disclosed, overcomes this difriculty. The crossT or slip bowl 10 is so formed that it can be attached to the oil stringimme diately above the master gate. The threads 16 are cut immediatelybelow the end of the slip bowl or the end of the inclined portionthereof for the purpose of receiving and engaging with the upper slipbowl 15 and its complete assembly.

With this combination under ordinary circumstances when a well attemptsto go wild, the drill stem is being handled by slips in the slip bowl10, but the auxiliary slip bowl 15 the threads in the drill stem and acontrolv gate is placed at the upper end of this section of pipe 33.WVhen the upper portion of the drill stem is disconnected, the pipe 33and assembly are swung into place and the lower end of the pipe isscrewed in to that portion of the drill stem which is supported by theslips in the bowl 10. The assembly is then lifted, the slips removedfrom the slip bowl 10 and the whole assembly then lowered and slip bowl15 screwed into the threads below the tapering portion of the slip bowl10. hat portion of the drill stem remaining. in the hole is thus swungon the slips 25 in the slip bowl 15 and the packing elements 23 and 24will close the space between the two strings *of pipe, that is, the oilstring and the drill stem. Gates being placed upon the side outletsonthe slip bowl 10 and a control gate on the upper end (if-pipe 33, theoperator has the well under complete control by opening or closing thegates.

Obviously minor changes might be made in the details of constructionwithout departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in theappended claims.

1. A pipe support and packer for casing heads-including an outer slipbowl, an auxiliary bowl having means at its lower end whereby it maybeinserted into and; engaged with a lower, outer slip bowl againstindependent longitudinal movement, the auxiliary bowl being formed toprovide supports for packing rings, packing rings mounted within theauxiliary bowl, slip wedges disposed within the auxiliary bowl upon the.packlng rings and bearing thereagamst, means mounted uponthe auxlharybowl for ,forcing said slip wedges against the packing and holding theslip wedges against upward movement, said means including an annulargland bearing againstthe upper ends of the wedges, the gland havingportions having peripheral radial slots, bolts pivoted upon the upperend of the auxiliary bowl and nuts hearing against the upper face ofsaid gland.

2. A pipe support and packer for easing heads, including an upper slipbowl tapering toward its lower end, the lower end of the bowlbelow thetapering portion having a uniform exterior diameter and being externallythreaded for engagement with the threaded neck of a lower slip bowl, theinterior face of the upper portion of the upper slip bowl extendingupward and outward, the interior face of the lower portion of the upperslip bowl below the upwardly flaring portion havi ing a shoulder,packing rings disposed within the lower portion of the upper bowl andresting upon said shoulder, switches having interior teeth and disposedwithin the upper flaring portion of the upper bowl and bearing againstsaid packing rings, a gland disposed above the bowl and having a portionhearing against said wedges, and means on the upper end of the upperslip bowl detachably engageable with said gland whereby the glandmay beforced downward to force the wedges toward the packing and compress thepacking or whereby the gland and packing will be held against verticalmovement.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

LEE J. BLACK.

